Protein folding has nothing to do with laundry. It is, in fact, one of the central questions in biochemistry. Protein folding is the continual and universal process whereby the long, coiled strings of amino ...

(PhysOrg.com) -- An important basic science discovery reported by University of Massachusetts Amherst biochemists this week describes how certain proteins use an unusual, spring-loaded loop mechanism to cripple their target ...

A team of Johns Hopkins Children's Center researchers has discovered that a protein involved in cystic fibrosis (CF) also regulates inflammation and cell death in emphysema and may be responsible for other ...

Second-hand smoke is associated with a number of diseases and conditions, including cancer, heart disease, and emphysema. It is an irritant to lung tissue and blood vessels, but the processes through which the body reacts ...

A new study from American Cancer Society researchers finds it's not just how much physical activity you get, but how much time you spend sitting that can affect your risk of death. Researchers say time spent sitting was independently ...

An expensive treatment recommended for a genetic disorder called alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency has no proven clinical benefit, according to a systematic review by Cochrane Researchers. The disorder causes chronic lung disease ...

Using CT scans to measure blood flow in the lungs of people who smoke may offer a way to identify which smokers are most at risk of emphysema before the disease damages and eventually destroys areas of the ...

Children regularly exposed to tobacco smoke at home were more likely to develop early emphysema in adulthood. This finding by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health suggests that the lungs may ...

Awareness of COPD—chronic obstructive pulmonary disease—continues to grow in the United States, according to national survey results released today by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National ...

Emphysema

Emphysema (pronounced /ˌɛmfɨˈziːmə/) is a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, as it is otherwise known, formerly termed a chronic obstructive lung disease). It is often caused by exposure to toxic chemicals, including long-term exposure to tobacco smoke.